Cat curfew clash

The fur is flying over plans by a Victorian council to introduce a cat curfew to confine kitties to their owners' properties 24 hours a day.

Nillumbick Council, north-east of Melbourne, wants to introduce the curfew to protect wildlife and pet cats, cut the population of strays and increase cat registration.

The round-the-clock curfew would extend the current night-time ban on cats being outdoors from 7.30pm-6am.

Already a volcano of unrest has erupted locally, with numerous callers to Coast radio stations clearly divided on the issue this morning. The Sunshine Coast Daily’s letters to the editor page is also regularly flooded with opinions on the topic.

There was also discussion on television morning news programs about how the authorities could effectively police the curfew.